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The unmanned drone will be set an objective by a human operator, for example a target to look at, and it will fly there using technology such as GPS, autopilot and collision avoidance sensors.

It emerged this week that the Pentagon has issued a new policy which promises that humans will always decide when a robot opens fire, but it is not clear whether the X-47B has been designed according to that edict.

In flight: The X-47B has a claimed unrefuelled range of 2,000 miles and a flight endurance of more than six hours

Contractors hoisted the test prototype of the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System on to the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman on Monday in preparation for its first carrier-based testing.

A team from the U.S. Navy's Unmanned Combat Air System program office also embarked on the carrier to oversee the tests and demonstrations, which will begin in the New Year.

It is hoped that the X-47B, which boasts a wingspan of more than 62 feet (wider than that of an F/A-18 Super Hornet), will demonstrate seamless integration into carrier flight deck operations through various tests.

VIDEO: See the X-47B in Flight Cruise Mode:

Sailors watch as the drone is hoisted into place: The X-47B stealth drone is the first unmanned aircraft designed to be piloted by artificial intelligence rather than by a remote human operator

Autonomous: In development for five years, the drone is designed to take off, fly a pre-programmed mission then return to base in response to a few mouse clicks from its operator

The size of a jet fighter, yet without a tail fin, the stealth drone is produced by Northrop Grumman, which also produces the similar, except larger and manned, B-2 Stealth Bomber.

It caused a stir over the summer when it was mistaken for a genuine UFO as it was transported through Washington D.C. on its way for tests at a navy airbase in southern Maryland.

Unlike drones currently in service with the U.S. military, the X-47B is designed to be almost completely autonomous, needing only to receive orders from a human operator rather than actually being piloted by remote.

However it is not yet clear whether
the drone will be able to open fire without explicit authorisation from
its controller. The Pentagon this month vowed that no robot weapon would
be able to decide when to attack humans.

That
promise came as Human Rights Watch issued a warning that autonomous
'killer robots' could find their way onto battlefields within 20 years,
or 'even sooner'.

That
possibility is particularly alarming in light of increasing fears that
human scientists could one day lose control of computer-based artificial
intelligence systems.

Cambridge
University has even opened a centre where leading academics will study
the existential threat that out-of-control robots could potentially pose
to humanity.

Sitting on the dock of the bay: It is hoped that the X-47B, which boasts a wingspan of more than 62 feet, will demonstrate seamless integration into carrier flight deck operations through various tests

The
aircraft is as yet not equipped with military hardware, but is designed
for ample space to accommodate bombs and surveillance equipment.

Not
having a pilot eliminated the need for much of the life support
equipment and other essentials that humans need to survive at high
altitudes.

The aircraft has
a claimed unrefuelled range of 2,000 miles and a flight endurance of
more than six hours. It can carry two 2,000lb bombs.

A variant of the craft, the X-47C will have a larger payload provision of 10,000 pounds and a wingspan of 172-feet